Devil's Never Cry
by Yriels Bane
Summary: Shikamaru fell from grace


Right I should be getting on with dark love but I got an idea when I was listening to this. I wished I could come up with a better idea for this but the original idea turned out to be huge.

And yes there are unreasoned time skips.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the song or Naruto or anything much really

**-----------------------------------**

_Steal a soul for a second chance  
but you will never become a man_

_My chosen torture makes me stronger  
In a life that craves the hunger  
A Freedom and a quest for life  
Until the end the judgment night_

_  
Bless me with your gift of light  
Righteous cause on judgment night  
Feel the sorrow the light has swallowed  
Feel the freedom like no tomorrow_

_  
Stepping forth a cure for soul's demise  
Reap the tears of the victim's cries  
Yearning more to hear the suffer (of a)  
Of a demon as I put it under_

_  
Killed before, a time to kill them all  
Passed down the righteous law  
Serve a justice that dwells in me  
Lifeless corpse as far as the eye can see_

_-------------------------------------  
_

Shikamaru walked down the empty path through his forest. There was no-one here, not even his clan's herd of deer, they had feared to come anywhere near since Hidan, the whole area wreaked of darkness, the woods around were silent as a drop of water hit the dirt, there were clear skies above. He had avenged Asuma but he still felt empty, he had sealed an immortal away effectively killing him, He had effectively taken out an Akatsuki member single handed.

Then why did he still feel like a little boy who had lost his way, the small child who knew the ways of the world but played ninja rather than being a true ninja, playing at being a man. He crumpled down beneath the tree as his tears soaked into the earth.

'Men should never cry' he repeated it to himself in his mind.

_------------------------------------------  
The eye can see (X5)_

Bless me with the  
Leaf off of the tree  
On it I see  
The freedom reign

We are falling  
The light is calling  
Tears inside me  
Calm me down

Midnight calling  
Mist of resolving  
Crown me, with the  
Pure green leaf

Praise to my father  
Blessed by the water  
Black night, dark sky  
The devil's cry  
-------------------------------------------

One year later

He leant over his arm, holding him up as he wretched, his face beaded with sweat he rested it against the wall. He'd pushed to far again, he was drained but the empty area around him told him it was worth it. A 100m radius around him was devoid of life, the life that he craved now; he had developed an entirely new set of shadow arts based on the theoretical existence of a shadow realm like those of the animals that were summoned by other ninja. The problem with these new techniques was that they sucked away life, either his or his victims.

This had driven him to become numb, a perfect ninja, almost. Not even a sapling survived his shadows now. Whenever he wasn't on a mission now he was training, he hadn't spoken to anyone other than the Hokage for months now, not even the victims who if they were lucky caught a glimpse of his ANBU mask. Even his home was even empty now; his father had passed away on a suicidal S-class, just after his mother had passed away, killed by a ninja who had wanted to get at Shikaku, so he now had the clan house, forest and library to himself. He had learned and perfected every one of his clan's techniques he had read about. And he had been forced to read, his father had been too lazy or away on missions, so now he learned them himself and now though Shikamaru would never know it, he had surpassed his father who would never beat the new, sober and dark Shikamaru at Shougi.

He now only waited for the day that someone stronger would come along and kill him. He got the feeling that even the new Hokage feared him slightly now, yes, Naruto had done it. He had managed to become the only person in Konoha's history to jump straight from genin to jounin without an exam; Tsunade had retired eventually and passed it down to him. He knew all his old friends were scared that he had turned into a new Orochimaru, but his results couldn't be argued with, every mission was a success and his friends couldn't bear to think of him as evil whether it be Naruto, Chouji, Ino not even Sai would believe that the lazy genius of Konoha could ever turn into a fallen ninja. Shikamaru now knew that only death could judge him truly.

_-------------------------------------  
Life of vengeance, a passive test  
Until the grave I will rest  
Engage the pressure until it crumbles  
The existence of the lifeless black souls_

Onward to the sacred battlefield  
Where justification and limits are revealed  
Tools of steel in rage they conquer  
Weed out the killing of victim's stalker

The powers proven to end the madness  
Upon I take it to end the savage  
The rays of light a truth of meaning  
To my father the blood is pleading

A justice rage for all to feel  
With innocent cries and hatred squeals  
The gore of evil seems to satisfy  
When slain an maimed and pacified

Watch the footsteps but never follow  
If you want to live tomorrow.

_-----------------------------------------_

5 years later_  
_

Shikamaru walked down the hallway, his shadow in front of him, killing every guard before they could make a sound with the shadow neck bind, he didn't even need to speak to work such basic ninjutsu anymore, he merely thought and his shadow followed. He stepped into the head office of Suna, to be met with the calm gaze of Gaara. He had been commanded by ANBU headquarters to attempt to kill the Kazekage in a completely black ops. Operation. His headband was at home on his bed with his mask and the small section of skin that had once held his ANBU tattoo. Complete deniability, even if he was recognized then Naruto would inform the Kazekage that Shikamaru must have turned rogue as a far he would know he would have.

He knew that Gaara must have known he was on his way, the guards were at a minimum he must have sensed Shikamaru pass the city walls. Shikamaru had made a rare underestimation of how powerful the Kazekage would be without the demon inside him. He felt the sand begin to circle his feet. Shikamaru made a quick teleport and he was standing behind the Kazekage who had already swivelled his chair to face where Shikamaru would be. Shikamaru looked at the red head with a slight regret in his eyes, in a another life where he had not let himself fall so far he could have been good friends still with Gaara, they had been for a short time when he had been assigned as ambassador. He had supported Gaara at any of the council meetings by keeping Konoha's positions in sharp light. Then he had been called back and told that as the head of the Nara clan he was required to attend all Konoha clan social events or be expelled by the village. One thing Naruto had never done was convince the elders to rid the village some of its more dated features but he was always overruled. So he was pulled back to Konoha where there were only painful memories and friends who didn't know what to do with him. Here in Suna he had new friends who didn't look at him with pity, he had a valued position and most of all he had been near to Temari, the reason he had got the ambassadors job. Around her he had never worried about anything other than her or the bruises she caused on the back of his head. But he had cared and since leaving Suna he could not honestly say he had cared at all. The regret though was quickly killed by his urge to take another soul to feed his jutsu's that grew ever stronger.

Shikamaru reached for Gaara shoulder, his hand never touched though as he spoke with his gruff rarely used voice.

"Unreal shadow jutsu." A shadow shot out from his hand wrapping itself around Gaara like a jet black ribbon until there was only a ball of darkness in front of him. He could feel Gaara fear grow inside the darkness, he would currently be going through his personal version of hell in the ball he would be able to move but only in the set area of the sphere, this jutsu would already have driven most people insane in the first second it was a tribute to the Kazekage that Shikamaru could only feel moderate fear emanating from him.

He sensed someone else nearing the room. The princess of Suna ran through the door, horror etched on her face as she screamed and charged at whoever was attacking her brother. Shikamaru mused for a moment as his spare hand rose out a shadow shot out. It took less than a second to fully entrap Temari in his shadow bind, he hand lowered to his side again as the women's eyes widened in shock realizing what jutsu she was caught just like a hundred times before when he had tired of her hitting over the head he would merely trap her for 5 minutes where he would lay in blissful peace staring up at the clouds next to her, until he released her and was beaten again for wasting her time with clouds. Shikamaru smiled to himself she never had been good at working out chakra patterns when she's in a hissy fit, and of course he'd gotten ridden of his trademark pineapple along time ago, so she would never have noticed it was him until then. He now wore his long hair down around his shoulders. His grip on Gaara slipped momentarily as memories ran back into his mind. That was all it took, he felt his throat dry as tiny grains of sand ran down into his lungs. Shikamaru returned his attentions to the still poker faced Gaara, his shadow held him still, stalemate, but Gaara had known the effect his sister would have on Shikamaru, meaning he had been told that this attack was planned. He had been set up on a suicide mission. Leaf had decided he was to much of a risk to keep on the books. He felt rage build up inside him, he had sacrificed his mind for the village and now they merely wished to throw him away. His shadow manipulations changed his hold on Temari changed, she let forward a string of curse words before the shadows gripped her tighter, squeezing the air out of her slowly as Shikamaru turned to Gaara whose poker face had fallen now that he realized the danger he had put his sister in. Even Konoha's secret documents had no idea how strong he had gotten. His shadow wrapped around Gaara's neck, he began to flail trying to escape as his neck slowly closed up, he screamed weakly. But it didn't feel right killing these two, he had been forced to kill people, he had a name people called him in ANBU when they thought he wasn't listening, demon killer. He specialised in killing those who deserved truly to die they fed his jutsu's strength more; he needed to hear a demon cry for death they had dealt cruelty to others, and neither Temari nor the new Gaara fitted there.

Gaara again took advantage again of Shikamaru's distraction. He began choking on the sand but his shadows still held the siblings, Temari was screaming at him and Gaara was trying to catch her gaze as though he wanted to tell her something, but Shikamaru really didn't care. He couldn't do it, he would fail this mission, he wasn't a perfect ninja after all, and now he would die for daring to attack a kage. Ironic wasn't it the shadow wielder would die for attacking a so called 'shadow'. His grip on the two Sabuka's drop as he blacked out from the lack of oxygen caused by the sand clogging up his throat.


End file.
